A year ago, Dawson McCown didn’t finish in the Class 3 boys state meet at Gans Creek Course in Columbia as he collapsed after the second mile.

When the Montgomery County senior returned to the state meet on Nov. 6, he made sure that he wasn’t going to collapse again.

McCown earned his first all-state medal of his high school cross country career after finishing 11th with a time of 16 minutes, 34 seconds. He was one of 11 seniors to earn all-state honors at the race.

“It’s crazy to think that it took me four years to finally get it, but it feels really good,” McCown said.

McCown was one of three Montgomery County runners who earned all-state medals. Junior Lyric Ford placed 14th with a 19:39.8 and sophomore Malia Rodgers came in 16th with a 19:44.6. It’s the first time in program history the Wildcats had three all-state medalists in the same year.

“It’s special,” McCown said. “It shows that cross country is a sport and you can really do something in that. If you put your mind into it and work really hard, you can do what Lyric, Malia and I did.”

MCHS coach Chasity Rodgers got to hand out the medals to McCown, Ford and Malia Rodgers -- who is her daughter -- during the awards ceremony. McCown, Ford and Rodgers were the Wildcats’ lone representatives at the state meet.

“We are very excited about all three of them being all-staters,” Chasity Rodgers said.

Ford earned an all-state medal for the third year in a row, while Malia Rodgers received all-state notice for the second straight year. Last year, Rodgers and Ford placed 13th and 23rd, respectively. Ford placed eighth in the Class 2 state meet in her freshman year.

“I’m very thankful that we were given the opportunity to be all-staters again,” Rodgers said.

McCown, who made his third state meet appearance, was in the top 10 for most of the boys race. He picked up his ninth medal of the season.

“I know that Dawson has been working towards this for a long time,” Ford said. “After (what happened) last year, seeing him being able to medal is very exciting.”

McCown earned all-state honors in his second sport this year. In May, he received all-state notice in track after placing sixth in the 1,600 at the Class 3A state track meet in Jefferson City.

“This was very special to my heart because this is nothing like track,” McCown said. “This sport has a lot of different emotions and ups and downs. It’s good to come out here and compete and get it done.”

Chasity Rodgers said she was thrilled to see McCown – who ran a school-record time of 16:11 at the Orchard Farm Invitational on Oct. 7 – end his cross country career with a medal.

“He’s been working for that a long time,” the MCHS coach said. “He has had a lot of ups and downs. It’s just a really sweet way to end it.”

With the all-state medals in the girls race, Ford and Malia Rodgers finished their seasons with nine medals apiece. They now have a combined 43 medals.

“You have to be proud of them,” Chasity Rodgers said. “They’re all-staters. They worked all year.”

Ford and Rodgers helped put an end to a successful season for the MCHS girls team that included its first Eastern Missouri Conference title in program history.

“It’s been a very successful year, not only individually, but also as a team,” Ford said.